At first glance it looked like rumors of a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fight were just that: rumors. Then Mayweather himself admitted to starting the rumors, and McGregor posted a hypothetical fight poster for the hypothetical superfight. All of a sudden it was much harder for people to ignore the possibility that this fight might actually be real.
UFC president Dana White initially called it a tabloid story, but that was back before both fighters fed into it. Now he’s making sure everyone knows that the fight isn’t going to happen without the UFC’s involvement.
“We haven’t talked about it. Conor McGregor’s under contract with the UFC,” White told Dan Patrick. “If Floyd wants to fight Conor? Call me, Floyd.”
In another interview with The Kevin and Bean Show, White said, “It would be a UFC thing 100 percent.”
But some insiders are questioning whether the UFC can actually stop McGregor from facing off with Mayweather in a boxing match, citing provisions in the Muhammad Ali Act that keep promoters from restricting the ability of a fighter to challenge for a championship belt. Whether the often-ignored bill could actually allow McGregor to sidestep the UFC is still a huge question though.
And now the UFC is saying it is willing to entertain the idea of McGregor vs. Mayweather, perhaps only so the promotion can take some control of a superfight that has developed completely without its knowledge or approval.
(Via MMA Fighting)
